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Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Coco Ellens

Coco Ellens (sister of Team Chicago member Dietrice Ellens) - Breast Cancer Survivor
Coco Ellens (sister of Team Chicago member Dietrice Ellens) - Breast Cancer Survivor
"When the cancer came back, it was more aggressive. That’s when Coco went to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) [now City of Hope] and has been doing well ever since."

During the second week of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, TEAM CHICAGO is highlighting Coco Ellens, who is the older sister of our member Dietrice Ellens. Coco is 58-years-old; a mother of two adult sons; supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service; proprietor of A GUY NAMED Patches, which is a screen printing and embroidery company; member of the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers Motorcycle Club; and has been cancer-free for 22 years.


Coco Ellens: “In January 2003, I was having really bad headaches and seeing the doctor very often.  About the third week, I found a lump in my breast about the size of my index finger and I mentioned it to a friend. She started telling me about her family member, so I made another doctor’s appointment, two mammograms and a biopsy. Later I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The idea was to do a lumpectomy but after six months of chemo to shrink the tumor, a mammogram later showed the cancer was all in the breast. So I had a mastectomy instead of a lumpectomy.


The first five years have brought me hope. I had been on and off chemo since 2003. As of November 11, 2014, I have not had chemo and so far my scans have been clear. This is truly a miracle. It means that I am truly in remission. I would not say cured because I did not want to jinx the four years of being chemo free. When I was initially diagnosed in 2003, I didn’t really have too many options. With different insurance and doctors, I was going to a medical facility that wasn’t a good fit for me. I remembered a friend, who was diagnosed herself, telling me about the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) [now City of Hope] and I decided to give it a try. So far no regrets. I want to thank my birth family and my Arizona family who supported me.”


Dietrice Ellens: “My sister Coco received a lot of support from both of her parents and siblings during her chemo treatments. Her co-workers were the best. Coco’s job had a program that allowed co-workers to give hours to their peers who had a hardship. So while Coco was going through chemo, she never missed a paycheck. She did lose her hair in the first year due to the chemo treatments but it did grow back when she went into remission. When the cancer came back, it was more aggressive. That’s when Coco went to CTCA and has been doing well ever since. God is good because she is back in remission, however, she still get checkups annually.”




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